Business Invoice For Faster Payment
In this modern and digital era, technology has played an important role and convert the lifestyle of humans from manual to completely automatic that now humans rely on different new innovative machines to complete their work. Every human is busy in doing jobs or business to live standard life style and there are different businesses running completely on new technology to increase their daily production rate.
In the past businesses work manually and their payment methods were also cash payment with hand written bills that carry the official stamp of the company. But now technology advances and creates a machine billing process and computers will design the bill that customers need to pay and these are called as invoices.
Invoices are very important part of your business. You are done with your work but you will not get the payment until you will give professional looking invoice to the customer.
There are many small businesses and they need to prepare accurate invoices through which they will get the exact payment from customers. Small businesses need to design professional looking invoices and there are different designs or templates available online.
The businesses invoices need to be efficient enough that they cover all the financial details needed by clients. Including all the lists of items that are purchased by customers and the services utilized by them and all the charges must be separately mention in front of them and then subtotal as well. Invoice is not considered as any legal document, but they are considered as very crucial and sensitive part of accounts and receiving process.
Invoices template need to be clear and professional that anyone can read it easily.
Its clarity will depict that which item was sold and what was the time and what was the price. Your professional template of invoice gives a positive impact of your business on customers. And these invoices urge the customer to pay complete bill without any negotiations.
Steps To Design Professional Invoice For Small Business:
Many small business owners, freelancers, entrepreneurs are in search of templates through which they can design their own simple and professional-looking invoice for their business. There are many templates available online but checking which template is official is a great struggle, because on this slip you will get the payment from customer. Following are few steps that beginner or small business owner can follow to make simple clear and professional invoice and start your billing and accounting process.
Design Your Logo:
Select the header of your page and add the logo of your business or company at the top corner of the page. And it is recommended to design your invoice on Microsoft Word, where you can automatically choose Word invoice templates that has built-in header with defined space where you have to add the logo. Invoice templates help the beginner that they can repeatedly check that every point is correctly included in the invoice.
Small Business Discription:
In the header after attaching the logo of your business you need to add name, address, phone numbers, email address, location of your business. If your invoice slip is large and can easily adjust the brief description of your business, then try to add maximum 2 lines introduction of your business.
Add Contact of Customer:
In the header when you are done business contact information, add the clients contact information detail on your invoice. Write the exact full name of customer, add the complete residential address, email address mobile number of your customer. All these things need to be questioned directly from customer before making invoice.
ADD INVOICE DATE:
Now after adding the contact detail of your client, in the next row add the time and date in which you are preparing invoice document for customer. These must be exact date and time when you are preparing the invoice.
Specify The Date Of Payment:
Add the payment date on invoice so that customer can pay the bills on exact date. The payment date must be the date when you are going to receive the bill from customer and these dates need to be clearly written in bold font or you can use different decent bright colors to elaborate what you are writing on invoice.
There are many examples when customer get confused in invoice date and the payment date so you need to use clear words and digits and if there is still any point then explain these to customer as well.
Enlist The Services You Offered:
This is the main point of your invoice where you have to list down the services or items you purchased from this company. Follow this listing pattern to make it more easy.
Briefly describe each service that customer avail.
Numbers of hours conducted in service or the number of items they purchased.
The price of each item or the service they get
At the end mention the subtotal of charges according to the list.
Add the taxes that you have to receive from customer.
Now add the complete amount which you are going to take from the customer after adding subtotal and taxes. Now write the total amount and make it bold and clear in large font so that it attracts customers eye at first glance.
Add Terms Of Payment:
Now at the bottom you need to enlist that which of the payment method you are accepting in your business. So that customer can choose the method which suit them best. You can add Thank You note at the end of invoice or any greeting. You can also add late charging fees as well so that customer can pay charges within due-date.
Invoices Software And Resources:
There are different software’s available through which user can create or design best professional template for invoice. Following act as the best help for beginners to take your invoice designing experience to the next level.
Freshbooks:
Freshbook is marked as an excellent solution with up to the mark invoicing features as well as it has automatic invoicing feature as well. Its website has free invoicing template for beginner that you can download into Word or Google Docs.
Wave:
Wave offer free access to the invoicing software through which you can do accounting of your business easily. Wave website also offer a complete array of free invoicing templates. User can easily download these free templates into Word and Google Docs to use them afterward. It also provides an online service through which you can design your own invoices, adjust your reminders, and set all the process of payments to engage customers.
Quick Book Online:
Quick Book has its own built-in accounting tools that allow small businesses to create and design professional invoices, it also demand for the monthly charges from its regular users there are very minimum designs on which user can work. Invoices are customizable easily, send a complete batch and repeated invoices, track the status of your invoice and set all the payment reminders so that payments can be sent easily.
Invoice Ninja:
Invoice ninja give one full tier of with advanced features that other vendors charge heavy fee for. Ninja was basically designed for freelancers and small businesses. By this user can create designs for new invoices and accept payments from different methods that are offered.
Tips To Get Paid Faster:
When you are done with designing your professional looking invoices for your small businesses and you have learned about different software’s that are helpful no you have to know different tips through which you can get paid fast.
Locate And Track Your Time Schedule:
It is quite important to track that how much time you have spend on single invoice process. This can help you to check that how much time you need to improve your invoice or either the invoice you have already designed are accurate or not. You can also check the written details later on to see that how you did partition of time in each point of preparing the invoice for project. So keep it as a habit that you have to note down on the chart that what was your start up time and what was your ending time for the project so you can calculate that how much time you have spent on each project.
Invoice Punctually:
Make a routine to send invoice to the patient as soon as they purchase the item or service by this there will be minimum chances of mistakes and clients will send money to you timely.
Charge Delay Fee:
When you have the policy that you will charge late fees to the customer it will urge them to pay the bills on time so that they don’t need to pay extra money to your business. At time of purchasing you have to clear this policy to the customer that late fee will be charge if you delay your payment. Overdue invoices charge 1.5% per month according to the policy.
Entertain Different Modes Of Payment:
You need to arrange different payment methods in your business so that customer can send payment easily by any mean or by any method that is convenient for them. Limited payment method is one of the major factor in late bill payments. Clear it to the customer that these payment methods are acceptable here like credit or debit card payment, online payments and sometimes cash payment is acceptable as well.
Entertain Automatic Payments:
There is an automatic method like they have scheduled their bill payment system for their regular clients. This process or method allow the client to deliver payments on set schedule, they don’t have to worry about paying’s bills manually. This way your invoice never gets missed and never cross its due date.
Conclusion:
Designing invoice for small business process is quite complicated in the beginning, but when you come in the flow and learn the basic points on which you need to work or do efforts in designing professional looking website then you will take quite less time in designing invoice but it is recommended to spend quality time in designing invoice and monitor every step carefully as it is very crucial and sensitive document of your business, customer will pay you the bills on the basis of invoice only.
If you follow the proper format of designing invoice and follow the policies wisely, then you will come to the point that you will get the payments easily on time from customers and all your cash flow is running in healthy manner which enables a positive and sound relation between owner and customer. Business owners need to properly follow all the above mentioned tips to speed up their payment.
FAQs:
What is the point needed on invoice that make it to be used legally?
If you want to make your invoice to be used legally you need to add title of “INVOICE” in header as well as you need to add clear name of your company and address and the name and address of your customer. Invoice must have invoice number so that if it gets misplaced you can get it back by tracking your invoice number. Rest all of the points that are included in the invoice will remain same for the legal invoice as well.
What is the standard validity time for an invoice?
Basically there is not any specific time period of the validity of invoice but still federal law state that your invoice will remain valid for almost 6 years. This reflect that one can pursue the unpaid invoice for long 6 years and no one can claim because its under the legal law. When invoice cross for 6 years then you need to reach legal actions to receive your payment.
